Global Courant 2023-04-29 03:22:07
Climate activists have announced plans to protest at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Saturday, where President Joe Biden will speak.
Climate Defiance organizers told ABC News they plan to block the area around Saturday night’s dinner, an attempt to hold Biden, who announced his re-election bid on Tuesday, accountable for what they say was his 2020 campaign pledge to end the extraction of fossil fuels on public lands.
“Number one: No more subsidies for the fossil fuel industry. No more drilling on federal lands. No more drilling, including at sea. No way for the oil industry to continue drilling, period,” Biden said during a democratic presidential election in March 2020. debate.
The group is asking protesters to gather at a subway station near the Washington Hilton, the hotel where Biden will make remarks at the annual dinner with an audience of Washington’s news media.
The youth-led group of activists protested in Washington, DC, for most of the week leading up to Saturday’s event.
On Tuesday, Climate Defiance interrupted a speech by John Podesta, who has been the president’s senior adviser on clean energy innovation and implementation since September 2022. On Wednesday, Declare Emergency activists blocked part of the George Washington Memorial Parkway, causing heavy traffic congestion around the nation’s capital.
The next day, at the National Gallery of Art, protesters from a group calling themselves “Declare Emergency” smeared black and red paint on the cabinet and pedestal of Edgar Degas’ sculpture “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen.”
Declare Emergency protesters sit on the floor after smearing paint on the cabinet and pedestal of Edgar Degas’ “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen” sculpture at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, April 27, 2023.
AFP via Getty Images
Declare Emergency protesters sit on the floor after smearing paint on the cabinet and pedestal of Edgar Degas’ “Little Dancer Aged Fourteen” sculpture at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, April 27, 2023.
AFP via Getty Images
The White House Correspondents’ Association said it is taking precautions, but did not specify which ones.
“We are aware of the planned protest. Security measures have been put in place,” WHCA President Tamara Keith told ABC News.
Hilton Hotels & Resorts, owner of the property where the dinner will be held, told ABC News it supports “non-disruptive” demonstrations.
“Washington Hilton respects the right of all parties to express their views in lawful and non-disruptive ways; however, we are at the same time committed to protecting the safety and security of our team members and guests,” said a Hilton spokesperson. “We will take all necessary steps, in coordination with local law enforcement, to ensure that such activities do not interfere with those entering and exiting the hotel.”
The Washington Hilton Hotel, venue of the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner, to be held April 29, 2023.
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The Metropolitan Police Department told ABC News that law enforcement is “aware of any potential First Amendment activity” related to the dinner and said the department “will continue to monitor and plan accordingly with our federal law enforcement partners to ensure the safety of D.C. residents.” and visitors.”
The anticipated demonstration is needed to persuade Biden to take action on climate change and keep young voters engaged in his re-election campaign, Rylee Haught, the hiring manager for Climate Defiance, told ABC News.
“If Biden wants to continue to see the youth support he had when he was elected, he has to keep his promises, especially around climate change, because young people know it’s an existential threat,” Haught said.
“We know we don’t have time to wait. If he wants young people to vote, he better stop extracting on federal lands,” she added.
Even if all the countries that have signed up to reduce carbon emissions continue with their climate commitments, it won’t be enough to prevent global warming by 1.5 degrees, the activist said.
“Young people have the most to lose in this battle, we also have the most to give, which is why we are closing the correspondents’ dinner,” Haught said.
Haught’s contempt extended beyond elected officials.
“The mainstream media is accepting similar funds from oil and gas companies. And it seems they are not addressing the climate crisis with the urgency it deserves,” she said.
Haught said she feels young activists like herself are turning the desperation of the pandemic and mass shootings into direct action.
“Young people aren’t just going to sit and wait for a future to be in pure chaos. We’ve already lived through a deadly pandemic,” she told ABC News.
Haught, a West Virginia resident, told ABC News she wants the public to understand that protesters are “putting their bodies on the line for everyone’s future.”
“People are going to lose their lives. People are actively losing their lives due to unprecedented wildfires and floods,” she said. “I’m sorry if people are uncomfortable, but they will suffer much more serious consequences if we don’t take immediate action now.”
In previous years there have been several protests outside the annual dinner.
In 2016, protesters gathered to draw attention to Syria’s civil war, and in 2009 activist group Code Pink confronted former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and called for his arrest.
